Hybrid Technologies, the electric vehicle development company that we profiled last month, has utilized a unique way to sell a car. On the Sam’s Club website. The car was sold as part of a “Once in a Lifetime Own the World’s Ultimate Electric Super Car Package“. The package included the first production model of their electric Super Car, as well as travel, hotel and racetrack time in Los Angeles. The package went on sale yesterday and sold only an hour later. It looks likely that Hybrid Technologies may use Sam’s Club to sell more of their cars as they go into full production.

There has been a lot of wrangling between car companies and the EPA over how to certify mileage estimates with the new crop of electric vehicles (EVs) and extended range electric vehicles (ER-EV). The EPA is furiously working on a standard testing protocol. According to Catherine C. Milbourn of the EPA, the agency “hopes to have a final policy soon”. To be the first company to achieve the coveted 100 MPG label would be a huge achievement and GM is pressing hard to get that rating for the Volt. The automaker is promising to share onboard computer data with the EPA in hopes of helping the process along. Early reports that the GM Volt has grabbed that rating are premature, as the process continues to go back and forth. It does look promising for the Volt, with industry engineers like Michael Duoba of the Argonne National Laboratory says “A vehicle of the Volt’s design should be able to exceed 100 mpg in tests” and goes on to say “Depending on assumptions about how much gasoline is consumed after the battery needs recharging on the road, Volt could get 120 mpg to 200 mpg”.

Sometimes lost in all the hype over the Volt, GM is also working an another major vehicle launch for 2010, the Saturn Vue Plug In. Using GMs proven “Two-Mode” hybrid technology and now lithium Ion batteries, GM hopes the vehicle will set the standard in efficiency and performance. Currently road testing is underway at facilities in Arizona and Michigan, as well as some real world testing. So keep an eye out for more news as we approach the 2010 model year, which is shaping up to be epic for plug in cars from every manufacturer.

Chevrolet’s large scale test called “Project Driveway” is not underway. The test fleet is made up of hydrogen fuel cell powered Equinox cars. The test uses real world drivers in New York, Washington DC, and southern California. The highly rated hydrogen car has a range of 150 miles and a top speed of 100, all the while being 100% emissions free.